Secrecy and Privacy are not the same thing

// January 14th, 2014 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

I just watched an interesting video:

It is about the NSA betraying the world’s trust and it got me thinking: I’m not sure people understand the difference between secrecy and privacy. It seems that with the Snowden revelations in the news we hear this common acceptance of being monitored because “I have nothing to hide.”

For most of us this is probably the case – we aren’t doing something in secret that is illegal. We do not have anything to hide. But that’s not privacy. Privacy is not publishing conversations with friends – not because you are planning something mischievous, but because it’s a private conversation and nobody else’s business. (more…)

Stop it right now. Debt isn’t always Bad!

// November 12th, 2013 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

As a society we seem to have developed a hatred for debt since the economy nearly suffocated in 2008. Now clearly, when you have a choice between using debt and not using debt, the choice is probably clear. And debt can be bad when abused, but it’s not absolutely bad. Milk is good for your bones, but try to drink a gallon at once and see what happens. It drives me crazy that so many perspectives today are a reaction to the extreme case and not the normal case. I think debt is another victim of this type of thinking. (more…)

Stagnating Wages? It’s much worse than that.

// November 6th, 2013 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

I don’t want to say I told you so back in August, 2010 when I wrote Stay Above the Median, but…I told you so. They used much better visuals in this video than I have the capability to create – and it tells this story over a broader timeframe – so here is a great little clip from Inequality for All:

Stay Above the Median

// August 6th, 2010 // 5 Comments » // Uncategorized

I’m planning on buying a house with my wife in the (near?) future and we’re in the learning phase of mortgages, financing, PMI, debt-to-income ratios, points, taxes, blah blah blah.  It sounds exhausting doesn’t it?

Through the process I’ve thought to myself, maybe we should wait and put 20% down.  Then we can get a fixer-upper¹, save on things like private mortgage insurance², and probably get better rates from a wider variety of lenders.

That’s a lot of coin, though.  No matter how you dice it.
(more…)